Lawmaker seeks leniency for Philly woman who mistakenly carried gun into N.J.
The top Republican in New Jersey’s Assembly says it defies common sense to make a woman with no criminal record face a mandatory prison sentence for bringing a licensed handgun into the state.
Shaneen Allen, a mother of two from Philadelphia, would not have been guilty of anything in 30 other states when she crossed into New Jersey with a gun she’s permitted to carry in Pennsylvania, said Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, R-Union.
Bramnick said Tuesday he’s pleased the Atlantic County prosecutor’s office is reviewing its decision to deny Allen entry into a pretrial-intervention program.
“It tugs at my heart to think about a woman going to jail under these circumstances, and I’m convinced that the county prosecutor will probably see that a reasonable outcome would be something other than state prison time,” he said.
If an agreement is not reached that will allow Allen to avoid a prison sentence, Bramnick said he’ll urge legislative leaders to call an emergency session to vote on a measure giving prosecutors more discretion in such cases.
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